A Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints shares his experiences in the Japan Nagoya Mission 2013-2015.

Monday, September 21, 2015

All's Well That Ends Well

So another transfer has come and gone, and much to my relief, I am separating from my companion. Working with him has been like reliving all the difficult companionships that I've experienced up to this point, so it's going to be a relief to be able to say goodbye tomorrow.I am transferring to Shizuoka. And I am very excited. During my first few months in Japan, I got to go to Shizuoka a number of times, and I had very good impressions of it. It's also a big city. Definitely the biggest one I will work in ever.My companion is also someone I know already, so I am not worried about things there. He's someone who was in my district this transfer. In fact, I worked with him on a companion exchange last week! His name is Elder McC, and he's from a small town near San Jose.The number of missionaries in Shizuoka also is changing from two elders and two sisters to four elders and two sisters, so my companion and I will be starting from nothing. It's going to be a great chance to work really hard and go out strong.I think I've learned a lot about working with others on my mission. I didn't particularly enjoy working with others before, but when things work out, it can be really great. But even when you are working with someone that you don't match up well with, you can still do your bestto avoid fights, to compromise and to see things from the perspective of the person that you aren't getting along with. A lot of fights I had with my siblings could definitely have been avoided if I had known that and actually thought that way back then.It's definitely not easy though. Especially when there are things that need to get done. It's hard to remember to be loving and gentle when work needs to be done. But I think that God cares a lot more about us acting kindly to others even if they don't do what they should. Godweeps when his children fight and hate each other, it says so in Moses 7:28-33.I am worried about Elder A. I'm worried because I know he will have difficulties with others, and because I know that until he humbles himself and follows his leaders, that he will not be able to be a successful missionary. But I don't think that there is anything more that I could have done. I tried to instruct him with love and tolerance, and he has rejected my counsel. And now there's no time left but to just be nice (as patience trying as that can be) and hope that he will figure out someday that you can't just ignore everyone else and insist that you are right all the time. It's okay to be wrong.God will bless us with love, as we ask for it. And as we repent as we make mistakes, we will be strengthened by power from heaven. Because that's what the gospel is really about. It's about being strengthened and blessed to do things we couldn't before.Love,Elder Mueller